Plan a long weekend getaway with our Arcata adventure guide, featuring great outdoor escapes, where to stay, and where to eat.

Spend enough time in bike-friendly Arcata, on Cali’s foggy northern coast, and you’ll develop Popeye thighs like the locals. In this über-liberal community, recycling is religion and the Green Party rules.

PLAY

The riding selection is as broad as the virgin trees in nearby Redwood National Park, from the gentle five-plus-mile (eight-plus-kilometer) Hammond Trail to the surprisingly technical dirt in Community Forest, a Central Park-size preserve (www.cityofarcata.org).